Wonderful, but Messi is still some way from the pantheon

He is unquestionably the greatest footballer of the moment, but no matter what the Argentine does, Pele will always be best

Messi or
Maradona? Come to that, Messi or Puskas, each a left-footer? To broaden the
discourse, Messi or Best or Di Stefano or Cruyff, all attackers who could
use left foot or right?

Of Lionel Messi’s abundant talents there can be less doubt than ever after his
glorious display for Barcelona in Madrid last week. The first of his two
goals showed his extraordinary ability to glide into a scoring position. His
second was a small miracle of supreme ball control, courage, initiative and
determination.

His claims to be the best player in the world today seem undeniable. But where
is he in the pantheon of attackers? His versatility is remarkable; first a
right-winger, he has mutated, as did George Best, into what you might call
an all-court performer.

Yet should the World Cup be the ultimate criterion? Messi didn’t score a
single goal in South Africa last year. He